'This book is both a fine introduction to the me taphysics of Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz and a rich, wide-ranging study of the interaction betwee n physics and metaphysics in the seventeenth centu ry.' - Kenneth P Winkler, Wellesley CollegeThis book introduces student to the three major figures of modern philosophy known as the rationalists. It is not for complete beginners, but it is an accessible account of their thought. By concerning itself with metaphysics, and in particular substance, the book relates an important historical debate largely neglected by the contemporary debates in the once again popular area of traditional metaphysics. in philosophy. (Do Not USE)

"This wide ranging and clearly written book offers a judiciously compendious but rich account of the doctrine of substance in the hands of Decartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz.."
-" Review of Metaphysics ...a plasure to read and demonstrates command of a great wealth of material...

Acknowledgements

p. vi

Introduction

p. 1

Notes

p. 13

Descartes and Substance

p. 14

Spinoza and Substance

p. 28

Leibniz and Substance

p. 54

Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, and Extended Substance

p. 75

Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, and the Mechanics of Extended Substance

p. 102

Causation, Occasionalism and Force

p. 134

Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, and Thinking Substance

p. 150

Extended Substance and Thinking Substance Related: 'the Nature of the Union Between Body and Mind'